Late-Night Tea and Conversation
by GoldeneyedJohnnycake
Summary: Snow is cold, tea is hot, and sometimes conversation is the best kind of medicine. One-shot.


**A/N:** ** _S. E. Hinton owns all rights to the characters in The Outsiders and her other stories, I only own my imagination. Once again, I'd like to credit theporcelaincardinal for this idea. Seriously, she's amazing- you should read her work, if you haven't. Enjoy!_**

The wind howled and almost ripped the door from my hands as I sneaked in to Pony's house for the night. I could barely unbutton my jacket after shutting the door again, and I ran my fingers under cold water to warm them up a little before curling up on the couch. "If you need some blankets, they're in that basket behind the couch, kiddo." Darry shuffled into the kitchen, holding an empty water glass.

"Thanks."

"How cold was it outside?" He wondered, filling up the glass from the tap and setting it on the coffee table.

"I dunno, but I was nearly frozen before I got here. Snow was tryin' to spit earlier, but the wind was blowing too fast for me to feel it." I rubbed one of the bruises on my cheekbone, wincing as the pain mingled with my cold skin. "Where's Steve?"

"He and Evie went out with Two-Bit and Kathy on a double date. He should be staying over there tonight, so you'll be fine. I don't think he'd ever kick you off the couch anyway, Johnnycake."

"I saw him sleepin' in the chair one night when I'd taken the couch, but he didn't even complain about his stiff neck the next day. I dunno why Pony hates him so much, he's real nice to me." I pushed my hair back, sneezing when it tickled my nose.

"Bless you. Pony just hates that Steve treats him like a kid; I think they'll warm up to each other eventually. You gonna stay for breakfast?"

"I might, but I can't promise anything. Told Dally I'd go with him to see a movie tomorrow." I sniffled, wiping my nose on my sleeve, then I took my jacket off.

"Have fun, then. You want some tea? It'll warm you up better than that jacket will." He folded my jacket over the opposite arm of the couch.

"Yeah, tea would be nice." I rooted through the basket, looking for my favorite blanket. Mrs. Curtis had knitted an afghan that was real soft and warm made from brown wool. It usually got shoved toward the bottom, but this time it was near the top, so I wrapped up in it before Darry brought a couple steaming mugs back with him. "D'you have work in the morning?"

"Nope, the boss gave me a day off. Don't worry about keeping me up, Johnnycake. I couldn't sleep very well anyway."

"Why not?" I sipped the tea cautiously, I'd never really spoken to Darry this much before, and I didn't want to ask too many questions.

"The wind kept me awake. One of the neighbors has these wind chimes, and they were ringing away right outside my window."

"Oh. My mom loves those things too, but I can't stand 'em. My old man keeps threatenin' to take 'em all down when he gets drunk, but he never gets around to it. Sometimes I wish I could do it for him." I picked at some stray yarn fuzz.

"Why don't you?"

"My mom'll just have another reason to holler at me. I can't stand it when she's hacked off at me. Screeches like that witch in that wizard movie. Her nails are sharp too, see?" I tugged my tee shirt collar down to reveal a few of the scratches she'd given me. "She's just like an old crabby cat, always yowling about somethin' or other and scratchin' when she don't get her way. That's why I liked your mom so well."

"Y'know, Mom made that blanket just for you. She was real funny about it too, 'cuz she wouldn't let any of us use it. She'd hide it all the way down at the bottom, just because she didn't want us to see it. I think she liked you real well, too, Johnnycake." There was a fond smile in his voice.

"I heard that Dally used to talk to her a lot. D'you know what they talked about?"

"Not really. I mostly palled around with my dad, so I couldn't tell you anything. Sorry, kiddo." Darry leaned over me to grab a blanket also.

"That's okay, I can ask Dally later." I yawned, making sure not to rub my eyes. I was still hurting from that walloping I'd got earlier that day.

"You should probably get some sleep, Johnny. There's some aspirin in the medicine cabinet, if you need it." Darry grabbed the empty mugs, taking them to the sink as he headed back to bed himself.

"Thanks." I scrunched down on the couch, pulling the afghan tight around my shoulders. Darry stooped down to tuck in a couple loose ends.

"Good night, kiddo. See you in the morning." He messed up my hair, a tired smile playing at his lips. I watched him slip back into the darkness of his bedroom before finally settling down.

I felt someone lay down with me after a few hours, and I opened my eyes to find Pony curled up next to me, fast asleep. I got up for some water, draping the afghan over him, then I crawled beside him. He must've had a nightmare again. Sometimes he'd bunk with me if they got too bad. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, grateful for the extra warmth. I get cold real easily, and it's even harder to warm up at night. The wind hadn't died down, and little flakes of snow now dusted the world outside. _Looks just like powdered sugar._ I thought, snuggling closer to my buddy as I drifted like the snow into a soft, dreamless sleep.


End file.
